If Porsche Is Coming Back to F1, Now Is The Time
While rumors of Porsche joining F1 are not new, this time could be different.
The name “Porsche” is synonymous with motorsports. This is an indisputable fact. Since the 1950s, the German marque dominated nearly every form of racing it ever contested.
The one major blemish in this record is Formula One. When it comes to Grand Prix racing, the only success ever afforded to Porsche came on the back of engineering demands from McLaren and cash from TAG.
Now as we are deep into the off-season of F1, the rumor mill is again swirling about Porsche, and VW Group partner Audi, joining the paddock.
While rumors of Porsche joining F1 are not new, this time could be different.
Why Porsche Left Formula One…
In the late 1950s joined Formula One racing, but saw little success. Their car design was outdated in comparison to their rivals, and the engine being used was down on power as well. The result after eight years of racing and 40 starts was just a single win. The company abandoned F1 for other forms of racing until the 1980s.
In 1983, Porsche used the turbocharging experience it gained in the 1970s to build a new V6 engine for McLaren racing with financial backing from TAG.
Despite again being down on power compared it’s rivals, the engine did well on fuel economy. Combined with the handling of the McLaren chassis, these Porsche-powered cars managed to rack up two Constructors Championships and three Driver’s Championships.
Rule changes and rising costs led Porsche to leave F1 again in 1987. The company’s final foray into Grand Prix racing came in the early ’90s with the introduction of V12 engines. Porsche’s ill-fated 3512 engine was an unmitigated disaster.
It took longer to build than planned, was too large to easily fit into the F1 cars of the era, and it was about 30-percent heavier than the V12 engine from Ferrari.
Despite a four-year contract with team Footwork Arrows, the engines were dropped after just a single season of racing.
Porsche left the sport with a battered ego and a damaged brand reputation.
…And Why Porsche Never Came Back
With massive success in road racing, Porsche’s failures in F1 made it difficult for the brand to ever justify the costs associated with Grand Prix racing. On top of this, F1’s stricter rules and regulations around engine sizes and formats made it hard for Porsche to see a return on that investment.
By the year 2000, F1 mandated all teams use a V10 engine, and Porsche at the time only made horizontally opposed six-cylinder motors.
Photo: Derin Richardson
This was also the era where Porsche and VW were becoming more than mere business partners. The details are too involved to cover here, but Porsche tried to complete a hostile takeover of VW, but in the end the tables were flipped and Volkswagen group ended up with ownership and control of the sports car maker.
In 2010, Volkswagen began investing massive resources into the development and marketing of the new range of TDI diesel engines, coupled with Audi’s dominance at Le Mans with the R10 TDI, there was even less incentive to let Porsche waste cash on designing an engine for Formula One.
But Now Is the Right Time to Join Formula 1
The stars are finally aligning for Porsche and even Audi to enter F1, and it all starts with “dieselgate.” When it came to light that the Volkswagen group was falsifying its emission claims on the TDI engines, the entire diesel empire began to crumble.
Through lawsuits, lost sales, government action and more, the VW Group would lose billions of dollars to the diesel scandal, moving all of its future investment into electrification and EV technology.
Currently F1 regulations require the use of a turbocharged V6 engine mated to an advanced hybrid system.
With VW looking to dive ever deeper into EV and hybrid technology, using F1 racing as a test-bed for new technology is suddenly more appealing. VW and Porsche already have success with hybrid racing thanks to the 919 Hybrid’s dominance at Le Mans.
When it comes to timing, now is absolutely the perfect time to try and attempt an entry into Formula One. There are new engine regulations coming in 2026, which means every team will be starting from square one on engine designs, leveling the playing field. It also gives Porsche a few years to get their engine design finalized and tested.
Finally, for the 2022 season starting this spring, there is an entirely new set of rules for the construction of cars. Again, this puts almost all teams on equal footing.
Seeing as this change happens before the engine change, it gives Porsche a good opportunity to evaluate the teams competing. This will allow Porsche to choose a chassis that best suits it’s engine to create the most competitive overall package.
In short, we have reached a perfect storm of circumstances. The rule changes sweeping through F1 allow Porsche to enter with minimal risk of creating an underperforming package. The dieselgate scandal freed up money for investment in hybrid and battery technology, which could be used for F1.
Now that Porsche is part of the larger VW Group, any investment in V6 and small-displacement engines can be proliferated through the entire portfolio of products and brands owned by VW, giving you a much greater ROI on that investment.
Nobody knows if Porsche (or Audi) will enter F1 for certain. When it comes to these kinds of rumors, you should keep the salt in close proximity until there is literally a car with Porsche branding sitting on the grid to start a Grand Prix. That said, it seems like this could be the best chance we’ve had in decades to see the Stuttgart Crest in F1.
Photos: Porsche
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